Harley in the Sky

Would you like to read a book where the protagonist...
A. serves as a good role model for young readers in terms of her behaviour?
B. does her best to understand the points of view of her family and friends?
C. doesn't allow anything to faze her but keeps her courage in times of difficulty?
D. stands by her decisions and actions, even when times are tough?
E. serves as an inspiration for anyone striving to follow their dreams?

If your answer is YES to any of these, please STAY AWAY from this book. What the book sounds like from the GoodReads summary hardly matches up to what the book contains within its plot.

Harley is our eighteen year old main character, whose lifelong dream is to become an aerialist in the circus. However, her circus-owner show more parents insist on her completing her education first. To prove them wrong and show the world that she can succeed as a trapeze artist, she runs away from home and joins a rival travelling circus. Soon, she realises that the world is not so easy to survive in.

So far, so good. From the summary, it sure sounds like an inspiring story. And it would have been, except that Harley is a mean-spirited, shortsighted, self-obsessed, whiny twerp. She sees the world only from her perspective. She doesn't hesitate to label others as being "rude", "unfair" or "selfish" but the own shortcomings are labelled as "my character flaws" and shrugged away. She wants everyone to accept her as she is and give her the best of opportunities as soon as possible. She's a girl who whines about others not liking her and yet not willing to do anything for others. In other words, she's yet another teenager who thinks she knows more than anyone else in the world. Sheesh!

All this would still have been ok if there were signs of a character transformation as the book progressed. But no, Harley remains the same till the end, and everyone around her end up apologising for standing in the way of her dreams. She makes a mistake, whines, decides to change her behaviour, makes another mistake, whines some more, decides to change, makes another mistake,.... endless iterative loop of this until a few paras before THE END.

This would still have been acceptable had the writing been upto par and the plot had proceeded with some semblance of normalcy. But no... The writer repetitively made Harley declare one thing in one chapter and contradict it outright a few chapters later. After a point, I stopped believing both Harley and the author. I've not seen such flat writing, random plot progression, and badly-created characters since The Henna Artist.

The only thing that was tolerable in the book was the handling of Harley's biracial background. Her feeling of "belonging everywhere and nowhere" is nicely expressed. There is a part in the book where she has a monologue about the Americans viewing all Asians the same way and not allowing for disparity within Asian identities. I loved those lines. And some part of the trapeze artist's life is nicely written. A few of the secondary characters such as Harley's mom and Vas (Harley's trapeze partner) are nicely sketched. So you see, the minor bits and pieces work. But if the main character is sketched in a haphazard way, nothing else can save your efforts. It's like having Salman Khan in the lead of a movie. Even if you have the best character actors in the star cast, the movie still sits on Salman's ballooned-up shoulders and more often than not, they aren't strong enough to save the film.

One question that was constantly coming up in my mind was, is this the kind of role model we need for our teenagers? Why can't YA books be more realistic and practical? After all, it's a genre that aims at the age range 12-18. So those on the younger side of this spectrum might be influenced very negatively from such leads. Plus, there is an "almost sex" scene which is slightly graphic. This book shouldn't have been tagged as YA at all.

Just in case there are some brave-hearts who still want to try this book (it does have a 4+ rating on Goodreads after all), you can find the audiobook free on the stories.audible.com site. The narrator of the audiobook is quite good in her tempo, enunciation, and character voices. The only part I found awkward was that even when a character was crying, she read the lines in a normal way. Emote, dear! How am I supposed to know that the character is crying if you read a line in a normal tone and then declare, perfectly relaxed, "she cried bitterly."

That lovely cover and title gave me so much hope, but I feel like I was thrown off a trapeze without a safety net below me. This was a huge disappointment.

***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever!, for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.

Follow me on Instagram: RoshReviews show less

I’m a huge fan of Akemi Dawn Bowman and rated both Starfish and Summer Bird Blue an easy five stars, so I was thrilled to receive an early copy of the author’s latest work, Harley in the Sky. Set in a travelling circus called Maison du Mystère, the story focuses on eighteen-year-old, would-be aerialist Harley who longs to take her place in the circus spotlight. Like Starfish and Summer Bird Blue, identity is an important theme and Harley struggles with the history and culture of her mixed-race heritage. The author sensitively explores how identity is often policed and value-judgements made based on appearance. Most importantly, she urges the reader to find a way to belong that also makes them happy.

Harley is a complex and messy show more character and one who is instantly relatable. The complicated nature of family relationships, and the constant clashes between Harley and her parents, catalyse the plot. Feeling desperate, isolated and hurt, Harley lashes out in her anger, and I loved how her bond with her parents slowly healed throughout the story; both sides make accommodations and learn to compromise. The author has done so much to raise awareness of mental illness and this book is no different. Harley is never labelled with a particular mental illness but her behaviour is symptomatic of Bipolar disorder and it was fantastic to read a conversation challenging the idea that a diagnosis and medication is often seen as the only way to legitimise a mental illness.

Dexi and Vivien were wonderfully warm additions to the cast with their kindness and support of Harley and together they celebrated the power of female friendship. For me, Maggie was probably the most interesting side character as her arc explored how ambition is often deemed unattractive in women and how women sometimes have to sacrifice one area of their life to succeed in another. Rounding out the cast of characters was Vas, whose dry humour, talent, and social anxiety created a complex love interest for Harley and I was rooting for them to make it work. I’d love another story set in the future so the reader can see how all these characters are getting on. The beautiful prose, richly detailed characters, and exploration of issues such as identity and belonging, combine to ensure another fantastic novel from Akemi Dawn Bowman. I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next. show less

Would you like to read a book where the protagonist...
A. serves as a good role model for young readers in terms of her behaviour?
B. does her best to understand the points of view of her family and friends?
C. doesn't allow anything to faze her but keeps her courage in times of difficulty?
D. stands by her decisions and actions, even when times are tough?
E. serves as an inspiration for anyone striving to follow their dreams?

If your answer is YES to any of these, please STAY AWAY from this book. What the book sounds like from the GoodReads summary hardly matches up to what the book contains within its plot.

Harley is our eighteen year old main character, whose lifelong dream is to become an aerialist in the circus. However, her circus-owner show more parents insist on her completing her education first. To prove them wrong and show the world that she can succeed as a trapeze artist, she runs away from home and joins a rival travelling circus. Soon, she realises that the world is not so easy to survive in.

So far, so good. From the summary, it sure sounds like an inspiring story. And it would have been, except that Harley is a mean-spirited, shortsighted, self-obsessed, whiny twerp. She sees the world only from her perspective. She doesn't hesitate to label others as being "rude", "unfair" or "selfish" but the own shortcomings are labelled as "my character flaws" and shrugged away. She wants everyone to accept her as she is and give her the best of opportunities as soon as possible. She's a girl who whines about others not liking her and yet not willing to do anything for others. In other words, she's yet another teenager who thinks she knows more than anyone else in the world. Sheesh!

All this would still have been ok if there were signs of a character transformation as the book progressed. But no, Harley remains the same till the end, and everyone around her end up apologising for standing in the way of her dreams. She makes a mistake, whines, decides to change her behaviour, makes another mistake, whines some more, decides to change, makes another mistake,.... endless iterative loop of this until a few paras before THE END.

This would still have been acceptable had the writing been upto par and the plot had proceeded with some semblance of normalcy. But no... The writer repetitively made Harley declare one thing in one chapter and contradict it outright a few chapters later. After a point, I stopped believing both Harley and the author. I've not seen such flat writing, random plot progression, and badly-created characters since The Henna Artist.

The only thing that was tolerable in the book was the handling of Harley's biracial background. Her feeling of "belonging everywhere and nowhere" is nicely expressed. There is a part in the book where she has a monologue about the Americans viewing all Asians the same way and not allowing for disparity within Asian identities. I loved those lines. And some part of the trapeze artist's life is nicely written. A few of the secondary characters such as Harley's mom and Vas (Harley's trapeze partner) are nicely sketched. So you see, the minor bits and pieces work. But if the main character is sketched in a haphazard way, nothing else can save your efforts. It's like having Salman Khan in the lead of a movie. Even if you have the best character actors in the star cast, the movie still sits on Salman's ballooned-up shoulders and more often than not, they aren't strong enough to save the film.

One question that was constantly coming up in my mind was, is this the kind of role model we need for our teenagers? Why can't YA books be more realistic and practical? After all, it's a genre that aims at the age range 12-18. So those on the younger side of this spectrum might be influenced very negatively from such leads. Plus, there is an "almost sex" scene which is slightly graphic. This book shouldn't have been tagged as YA at all.

Just in case there are some brave-hearts who still want to try this book (it does have a 4 rating on Goodreads after all), you can find the audiobook free on the stories.audible.com site. The narrator of the audiobook is quite good in her tempo, enunciation, and character voices. The only part I found awkward was that even when a character was crying, she read the lines in a normal way. Emote, dear! How am I supposed to know that the character is crying if you read a line in a normal tone and then declare, perfectly relaxed, "she cried bitterly."

That lovely cover and title gave me so much hope, but I feel like I was thrown off a trapeze without a safety net below me. This was a huge disappointment.

***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever!, for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.

Follow me on Instagram: RoshReviews show less

Akemi Dawn Bowman is one of my favourite authors and like her first book Starfish, I loved Harley too. Trust Akemi to write about identity and mental health issues, and she would do absolute justice to these themes.

Harley in the Sky follows Harley Yoshi Milano, a teen living in Las Vegas, whose parents run the Teatro della Notte circus. Harley dreams of joining her parents’ circus and becoming an aerialist. But her parents refuse that because they want her to join college. She then leaves home and joins the rival travelling circus Maison du Mystère to pursue her dreams.

Both of Harley’s parents’ are biracial and that makes it difficult for her to understand all four different heritages of her. She feels like she exists in this show more in-between space. People told her how she’s ‘not Chinese enough’ but also ‘not American enough’. Akemi challenges the racial stereotypes and prejudices. She shows that Harley has the right to every part of her identity without anyone telling her that she’s ‘not enough’.

Through Harley, Akemi has tried to show a multi-layered character. Harley makes mistakes but she grows out of them and learns understanding and forgiveness along the way. Though ambitious, she always had good intentions and cared for others. She knows that putting her ambitions above her family and friends is not right, but at the same time, she doesn’t want to regret not ‘trying’.

Vas stole my heart the moment he appeared on the screen. I liked how broody and mysterious he was and took his time to open up. Somehow, whenever there was a scene of Vas playing, I wanted to hear his music on screen? I loved Popo, Harley’s grandmother. She provided some lighter moments in the story as well as the wisdom Harley needed about her heritage.

Everyone talks about a backup plan. and Harley says that why it is always that people who wish to pursue careers in the humanities streams are asked about that? And parents always have some pre-set goals for children and to achieve them they pressurize them. Harley’s mother uses different tactics to emotionally manipulate her. But behind all those, there is, of course, parental love and Akemi has shown this beautifully.

Depression is the core of the story and Akemi has presented it in a very subtle and realistic way. Harley’s emotions were generally all over the place and often she found it hard to get words out of her mouth. I was able to relate to her concerns, her rage and her fury. Akemi has also shown how people still don’t take mental health seriously. We see the neglect of mental health by Harley’s parents. Her family had a stigma surrounding the conversations related to this. Harley also talked about using ‘labels’ that until you put it inside some label, people don’t take it seriously.

This book also celebrates (found) family and the life of a circus. Harley’s love for the circus is infectious. You can’t help but dream about the big top, trapeze artists, shiny stage, costumes and the whole beautiful aura of it. Though in the beginning people of Maison du Mystère didn’t accept her, slowly she made a space for herself in the troupe through her hard work and determination.

The best thing about Akemi’s writing is how effortless it feels. It is always poetic but at the same time leaves an impact that is hard to forget. I was fully immersed in the story since the beginning. Akemi knows exactly how to balance between descriptive elements, characters, important issues, dialogues and pacy plots. Even the characters’ internal feelings and conflicts don’t sound boring. She has distributed this story into essential parts where each moment, whether it’s small or big, has it’s own importance and eventually leads to some important moments later in the story. You can’t help but be compelled and enthralled by the story of Harley and her dreams.

I have come to a point now where I would read anything written by Akemi. And if you are someone who is yet to start reading her work, why not start with Harley? In simple words, just READ IT! Definitely recommended. show less

When I picked up Harley in the Sky, I definitely thought I was going to be getting a different kind of book. I must have missed all the chatter and conversation about it by the Street Team, which makes sense because I haven’t exactly been the most active on Twitter. I picked up this book so quickly because I love books about the circus.

But this isn’t a book about the circus. Not really.

In my opinion, this book is about living with untreated mental illness, and rising above it. And that is fine and good. Really. We’re not given Harley’s diagnosis, but it feels like something akin to manic depression. Nearly every chapter is a conversation about what it’s like to be Harley, trying to untangle her emotions and rise to her dreams. show more Some chapters are about her heritage and her family. A few chapters are about Vas and their blossoming relationship. What’s left… those chapters are about the circus.

It took me by surprise. I wish I had seen this book raised up more as a book discussing manic depression, or as a diverse book (Harley is part-Asian and spends some time discussing this in a few different places). Because everything I read was about Harley’s dream about being an aerialist, I went in ready for carnival magic akin to The Night Circus or Caraval. Because I was going into this one looking for a circus book as opposed to a rep-heavy contemporary, I think my takeaways were a bit muted.

Again, nothing wrong with a rep-heavy contemporary. They’re amazing! I just go into those with a different mindset. And I found myself getting impatient with chapter after chapter where Harley explains her life to others in convenient dialogue exchanges. These sections felt like huge info dumps and I was never able to immerse myself fully into Maison du Mystère. The atmosphere faltered under the weight of the conversation.

Then, there was Harley. I had a difficult time liking Harley, because she is so incredibly selfish. And I sort of feel like a terrible person for saying that, because the way her mental illness is discussed, it felt like that was used as a way to explain away her behavior. I empathize with Chloe, who tried to make Harley understand the consequences of her actions… and just gave up. Other characters are a little more likable – I liked Vas as first, but… I dunno. After a while I felt like we only skimmed the surface but that was all there was to him, a shell. Other performers at Maison had possibility as well – like Maggie! – but the story was so absorbed in Harley, everyone else disappeared behind her inflated sense of self-importance. We couldn’t spend too much time with the minor characters, because we had to spend all our time with Harley. And I didn’t like Harley? So that was a downer.

It worked for Harley’s personality, it really did. I just didn’t love it.

I can’t say this is a “bad book” – because it’s not! I think it accomplished what it set out to do – to provide a narrative for those who don’t have the support they need to find themselves in an oppressive world, and for those who struggle with mental illness but are not provided tools so they must build their own. For that message, Harley in the Sky was a success. But it wasn’t the circus book I was looking for, and I didn’t enjoy reading it.

And that’s okay! Not all books are for me. This one wasn’t. But it may be the perfect fit for someone else. show less

I kept putting off writing this review because I so desperately wanted to do it justice, but I just don't think I can find the right words because I am so in awe with this book. I finished this three weeks ago and I'm still suffering a book hangover. I've barely read anything because this was just SO GOOD and I want need more.

Harley in the Sky is a beautiful book set predominantly within a travelling circus... a circus that rivals our main characters parents own. The setting was so fun and it felt really atmospheric to me, but what really captured me was the characters, mostly that of Harley, our main character. I really related to her. There were moments where she was talking about how she felt or things she goes through that I show more connected to so hard. It was as if I were talking about myself at parts and it was so powerful to feel so so close to a character. My heart is bursting just thinking about it.

As always, Akemi's writing is beautiful and her storytelling is just like none other. I am so honoured I got to experience this story early and I cannot wait for everyone else to get their hands on it show less

Excuse me while I jump up and down and SCREAM about this book!!! I read it in a little under 3 hours and I couldn’t put it down!!! Harley is a trapeze artist but her parents want more for her than the circus life, despite growing up in one. So she runs away to a competitors circus and joins them but not in the way you think! This book has it all - drama, family, love, and suspense! Akemi Dawn Bowman is a masterful storyteller and weaves Harley’s gorgeous family story together effortlessly! This is definitely in my top ten of 2020!!! Brilliant book about running away to the circus but knowing that it’s okay to change your mind on a decision and stick with your gut!